


Queen by a Deal

by christine_canigula3



Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Arranged Marriage, F/M, Love, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:35:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24122206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/christine_canigula3/pseuds/christine_canigula3
Summary: Persephone and Hades. Everyone knows the story. What they don't know is how much she loved him. And how she happily left her world for him. Corinne lived a sheltered life alone with her mom. When a young guy with dark wings shows up and claims that he's the rightful husband to Core, she's excited to break out of her shell. But will her quick decision come back to haunt her?
Relationships: Hades & Persephone (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Hades/Persephone (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore)
Kudos: 2





	1. Stolen

If someone came up to me after I turned 18 and said, “Core, I know this sounds crazy, but you should know that you are the reincarnated soul of the Greek goddess Persephone, and next month you'll marry the modern reincarnated version of Hades and become the queen of hell,” then I would have probably called the cops so they could get some much-needed help.

Unfortunately, no one told me that, so when the situation came around there was no moment of, “Oh, so this is what that person was talking about!” No, instead, all I saw was a chance to escape my overbearing mother to live with some hot guy.

Growing up, I always thought my mom was overprotective. Everything in our house that could be was soft, and things that were not, such as a table, had bubble wrap around the edge of it. All the dish-ware was styrofoam, and I wasn't allowed to use a knife or a fork. My mom homeschooled me, and the only friends I had were ones that I made online since I wasn't allowed to leave the house.

I mentioned her security measures in a chat once, and everyone laughed and took it as a joke. When I sent pictures, one guy said that I should sneak out the window at night and go to a party. This might have worked if we had windows, and if my mom didn't have an alarm set for when the front door was opened. So I stayed at home and contented myself with drawing cartoons and watching old movies.

I never asked my mom what happened to my dad, and I never asked her why I couldn't leave. I figured something sad must have happened, and that she needed me there to keep her company. I didn't mind. We played board games, and she taught me the name of every plant in her garden. Half our house was filled with plants, and I had never seen a single one die. My mom just had the skill.

In mid-September when I was 18, I got the flu just like I always did at that time. Every year when the days got colder and the leaves started to fall, I would get really sick; as though my body rejected the cold weather. I'd stay sick until spring, and then I wouldn't get sick again till the fall. The year I turned 18, things were different. I could barely stand. My mom fussed and worried, and the plants showed it. For the first time in my life, I saw one of her flowers wilt and die. I tried to protest that I was fine, that she could go back to the flower shop, but it's hard to argue when you can't speak.

After two weeks of not going to work, her co-worker at the shop called her, complaining that he couldn't keep up with the orders by himself. I finally convinced her to go, telling her I would just sleep the whole time she was gone. She kissed me on the forehead and left, and I finally slept in peace.

I slept fine for a few hours, but eventually, hunger drove me to the kitchen. My hands were cracked and dry, my bones stiff. I opened the fridge to reach for a snack, surprised when the cold air cracked the skin on my fingertips even deeper. I frowned and made a mental note to put some lotion on. I grabbed an apple and a block of cheese. I set them on the counter and opened the drawer for the cheese slicer. I grabbed the slicer but as I slid the drawer shut I pinched my little finger in it. An instant mini burst of pain came, and I yanked my finger to my mouth. I bit it on accident, tasting blood. I muttered a curse, heading to the medicine cabinet.

I reached up to find the band-aids but decided to watch for a moment as the red dot grew larger on my fingertip. It slowly grew until it suddenly rolled and dripped, falling into the dirt of the flower box beneath it. With no more reason to delay returning to bed, I unwrapped a bandaid, tightly winding it around the cut. I glanced up, almost missing the flowers. I stared in confusion at the bright red poppies suddenly blooming in the planter. Strange, I thought. Mom hates red flowers. She would never grow a plant on accident, so where did this come from? It looked so appealing, and suddenly I was overcome with an urge to smell it. I have no qualms with the smell of poppies, so I leaned forward and took a sniff. The aroma seemed to engulf me, the scent pushing its way through every part of my body. My airways cleared and my headache faded. I plucked the flower from its stem, wanting to keep whatever healing properties it had close at hand. I raised it to my nose for another smell when I heard my mom scream behind me.

“No!”

I turned around, wondering why my mom was home, and what had caused her to scream.

She grabbed my arm roughly and shoved me out of the room. I stumbled, and she yanked me back up, still pushing me away from the flowers.

“We need to get out of here before he finds you,” she gasped.

“Mom, what is happening? Before who finds me?” I asked while she shoved me.

“Hello, my love,” said a male voice.

I stopped midstep. My mother started crying. I turned slowly and saw a young guy with dark black wings smiling at me. My mother tugged at me. “No, no, don't.”

I felt drawn towards him. He took a few steps forward, and so did I.

“No, darling, no!” she said again.

I didn’t turn around to face her, but I did stop walking. The boy didn’t. He kept walking until he stood so close that his chest brushed mine. I felt a sudden urge to throw my arms around him; when he suddenly took my face in his hands and kissed me. I didn’t pull back. I felt as though I had known him all my life, that we belonged to each other. This was right. After a few seconds, he broke the kiss. I gasped. He kept one arm around me, holding me tight against him.

“I’ve come to take her,” he told my mom.

“No,” she sobbed, shaking her head.

“A deal is a deal,” he said. “The blood has been spilled. She’s mine now," he said sternly.

I turned in his arms so my back was against his chest. I met my mother's eyes, hers filled with tears.

“Please,” she whispered desperately.

“I love you, mom.” My voice quivered.

“I'm sorry, Ceres,” he said. She dropped to her knees, head hung low, sobs racking her body. His arm tightened around me, turning me back to face him.

"Let's go," he whispered.

I nodded, and his wings engulfed us.

Suddenly we were moving fast. Flying, sinking, teleporting, I couldn’t tell you. I clung to him as we traveled, both arms wrapped around him, his face buried in the crook of my neck. After about 30 seconds we stopped abruptly. He picked his head up, but his arms stayed around me.

I looked around and saw what seemed to be a cave. Diamonds, rubies, emeralds; any jewel you could imagine adorned the walls. I stared in wonder. The boy brushed the hair out of my eyes. I looked back at his face. Dark brown eyes that looked pure black met mine; set in tan skin underneath curly black hair.

“My lovely wife,” he said softly. Some part of me registered his words and screamed at the rest of me that was for some reason stuck in a dumb happy daze. But I simply grinned and ran my fingers through his hair. He kissed me again, and I pulled him closer. Someone cleared their voice behind us. I went to take a step back, but his arm held fast on my waist. An old man bowed to him and then to me.

“Your Majesties. The chef has prepared a feast for you.”

The boy smiled. “Thank you, Dimitri.” Arm still wrapped around my waist, we began to walk deeper into the cave. The further we went, the more beautiful it became. We stopped when we reached a table made purely of rubies.

He stopped and turned me to face him. “I am King Aides,” he said. “And you, you are my queen.”

I raised my eyebrows, and he laughed and kissed the bridge of my nose. He sat in the chair at the head of the table, pulling me onto his lap. I wrapped one arm around his neck.

“I’m Corinne,” I whispered.

“Corinne,” he repeated. “My beautiful Queen Corinne.” I laid my head on his shoulder, and he pulled me closer to him.

Now, I know what you're thinking. “Core, one of the first things we teach children is not to talk to strangers, and especially not to leave with them. So what the hell is wrong with you?” And honestly, I couldn't tell you. Maybe I had finally snapped. Maybe Aides put a love spell on me. Or maybe I'd been isolated from everyone but my mother for my whole life, and suddenly an attractive guy showed up and called me his love and told me I belonged with him. Personally, I'm going with the last one, but hey, you do you. Besides, you haven't seen Aides. Everyone has different taste in guys, and it's as if he is perfectly tailored to look like my dream guy. Wavy black hair that begs for me to run my fingers through it; long black wings that peek out above his shoulders when he folds them behind him. Even though I've still never met another guy in person, I'm positive that Aides is the most handsome of them all. I'm prepared to fight you on this, so sit quietly and let me tell the story.

After dinner, Dimitri showed us to our room. A high ceiling covered in a perfect recreation of the night sky loomed over the room. One bed sat against the center of the wall. Aides spoke behind me. “Nothing has to happen,” he said. “You and I barely know each other.” I nodded, grateful. I looked down at my sweatpants and ratty t-shirt. I sighed, remembering that I didn't have any clothes here. I felt a tug on my shirt from behind. I turned and looked where a little girl smiled up at me, a stack of clothes in her arms.

“For the Queen,” she said with another smile. I squatted down to her height, and she handed me the clothes.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” I said.

“Is it true you married the king?” She asked shyly. I laughed, glancing back at Aides. He met my eyes, raising his eyebrows with a smile. I smiled back at him.

“Yes, I did.”

She grinned and curtsied again. “Thank you, ma'am!”

I laughed and ruffled her hair, standing up when she ran away giggling.

“You're a natural with kids,” Aides said.

“I've always wanted to have children,” I told him. I realized what I had said and blushed furiously. Yikes. I stared at the floor, hoping that Aides didn't see the redness in my cheeks.

I excused myself and stepped into the next room to get changed. The clothing that the little girl had brought to me was a soft satin nightdress that hung slightly above my knees. I untied my hair from its messy bun and combed my fingers through it as I walked back into the bedroom. Aides was sitting in one of the armchairs, but he stood up when I walked in.

“Wow,” he said. “You're beautiful.” I had blushed more times that night than I had in my entire life combined. Aides gestured to the armchair he had been sitting in. “I can sleep here.”

I shook my head. “No, it's okay. Really, you don't need to.”

He gave a little smile, and we both climbed into bed. We were laying close together, but not touching. Aides whispered “lights,” and the lights shut off, leaving us with the slight glow of the stars on the ceiling. Aides was facing me, so I shifted to lay on my side to face him. “Goodnight, husband,” I said softly. He smiled. “Goodnight, wife.” I closed my eyes and began to drift off. When I was almost asleep, I felt Aides’ arm wrap around my waist. I stayed still as he pulled me to him. Sleepily, I wrapped both arms around his neck. He pulled me even closer so that my head rested against his chest and pressed a soft kiss to my cheek. Happily, I fell asleep.


	2. An Unexpected Visitor

The next day, Aides told me that he had a surprise. I followed him until we came to a glass dome the size of an average house. Inside, there was nothing but dirt. I glanced up at him, confused.

“I know you like gardening, so I thought you might enjoy your own place to plant things,” he said hurriedly. I grinned and hugged him tightly. I glanced up and saw the biggest smile on his face. I leaned back and smiled up at him.

“Thank you,” I told him. “This is the best gift ever.” He smiled, then dropped his arms and stepped back, turning to look around the dome.

“What do you think you'll plant?” he asked.

I chewed on my bottom lip as I considered the options.

“I could plant flowers, or maybe some fruits and vegetables. What fruits do you like to eat?”

He blushed again. “I've never actually eaten a fruit,” he admitted. I felt my eyes widen.

“Isn't there any fruit here?” I asked. Aides shook his head. I thought about the different ways to get fruits.

“Even if I plant fruit here, it'll take months before any of them grow. Is there any way to visit the surface?”

Aides rubbed the back of his neck. “Yes,” he said after a moment, “but your mother might find us if we go to the surface.”

“We could go to a different city,” I suggested.

“A different country even.” Aides made an apologetic face and started to say something, so I stepped forward and grabbed both his hands in my own.

“We'll be perfectly safe,” I pleaded.

He sighed and gave my hands a little squeeze. “Okay,” he smiled. “We'll do it.”

I stood on my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Aides froze.

“So uh, good then. I'll tell Dimitri that you and I will be taking a little trip to the surface.” He nodded quickly and all but ran away.

I gave a little chuckle and walked back to the palace.

******************

Later that day, I had a picnic basket on one arm and the King of hell on the other. Aides turned to face me.

“We're going to be traveling the same way that I brought you here, so you better hold on tight,” he said with a mischievous grin.

I grinned back and wrapped my arms around his neck, the picnic basket hanging against his wings. He wrapped both arms around my waist as his wings enfolded us in darkness. The feeling of shooting upwards is somewhat similar to shooting downwards, but it has its differences. Shooting upwards feels like flying while shooting downwards feels like falling. When we came to a standstill, Aides folded his wings away, revealing what looked like an Italian market. We each dropped our hold on each other in order to look around.

“This is Ballarò Market,” explained Aides. “I asked a few souls where was the prettiest place to get food, and they said this was the place.”

“They were right,” I said. We spent the next six hours buying fruits and vegetables, eating some of them, and keeping some for home. I found out that Aides loves fruit such as peaches and nectarines, but he hates small berries. Finally exhausted, and with three extra baskets filled with food, Aides brought us home.

3— I rolled over in bed to face Aides. I studied his face as he slept. He looked so peaceful, and I could see that his mouth naturally turned up at the corners. I stroked his cheek absentmindedly. Eyes still shut, his arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me to him.

“Morning,” he whispered.

“Morning,” I whispered back. He kissed my cheek, then down along my jaw to my mouth. I sighed happily, when a knock suddenly sounded at the door.

Aides lifted his head and called out, “Yes?” A young boy no more than 8 years old sprinted into the room. He skidded to a stop and did a quick bow to me and then towards Aides.

We both smiled and sat up to face him. He lifted his head and looked to Aides, a fearful expression on his face.

“Your Majesty, Dimitri said I must come and get you at once! He said it's very important.”

Aides threw back the covers and jumped out of bed. “Where is Dimitri?”

“The throne room.”

Aides quickly left the room, and the boy was left standing alone and looking fearful.

I crouched down in front of him and offered a smile.

“Would you like some hot chocolate?” I asked. He nodded enthusiastically.

“Come on then,” I said, reaching out for his hand.

In the kitchen, the cooks surprised us with fresh cookies to go with our cocoa. I was a little worried about the emergency that Aides left for, but I figured that he dealt with emergencies all the time, what with this being the Underworld and all. Besides, I really did love spending time with the children in the castle.

**********************************

At 11 pm, Aides still hadn't come out of his meeting, so I decided to go to bed. I woke up when Aides opened the door.

“Aides?” I called out.

“I'm here,” he said as he sat onto the bed. His head was hung low, his wings drooping listlessly. I crawled up behind him and wrapped my arms around him, my head leaning on his shoulder. He covered my hands with his, resting his head on mine.

“What is it?” I asked softly. He ignored my question.

“What day is it today?” he asked.

“I think it's somewhere in the last week of November. Maybe the 28th?” I guessed. Aides sighed.

“Aides, please tell me what's wrong,” I pleaded. He stood abruptly, raking his hand through his hair. I got up and stood in front of him.

“Hey,” I whispered, grabbing his hands. “Whatever it is, I'll help you. We can do it together.”

He finally looked up and met my gaze, his eyes filled with pain. I stood on my tiptoes and pressed a kiss on his cheek. He turned my face and kissed me on the mouth, then pulled back suddenly.

“Sorry,” he whispered, dropping my hands and stepping backward. I quickly stepped back in front of him and wrapped my arms around his neck, desperate for the feeling of his mouth on mine. He kissed me again, one hand sliding in my hair, the other on my back, pushing me closer. I twisted my fingers in his tangled black hair, not ready to let go. He kept kissing me, neither of us willing to be the one to stop. In a repeat of the morning, a knock sounded at the door. I pulled back, Aides' forehead pressed against mine. “I have to go,” Aides murmured. “Maybe they've gone,” I whispered back. “Maybe,” he smiled. And maybe they had gone, or maybe they were left standing outside, waiting for someone that wasn't leaving his room till morning.  
I woke up snugly wrapped in Aides’ arms. Even in his sleep, he wore the same troubled expression that he did last night. I couldn't help but wonder what had happened yesterday to cause him such worry.

Aides woke up with a start, gasping and sitting straight up in bed. His arms were still wrapped around me, which meant that when he rocketed up, so did I.

“Hey,” I said softly. “You're all right. It was just a dream.” He met my gaze, his dark eyes filled with pain. His arms wrapped even tighter around me, and he buried his face in my neck.

“Oh, Corrie... Please stay with me,” he murmured.

“You don't need to worry,” I reassured him. “I'm not going anywhere.”

He picked his head up and stared at me.

“What happened last-” My question was interrupted by his lips crashing onto mine. I readily leaned into him, loving the feeling of belonging that hit me every time he kissed me. We'd only known each other for three days, but everything about Aides felt familiar. I knew that I belonged with him in the underworld.

The clock clanged loudly, startling us both. “Will you come with me to court today?” Aides asked. I grinned and nodded. Aides smiled back at me, but there was something sad in his expression.

******************

I loved the court. Aides and I sat down in our thrones at the front of the room and helped decide the worth of the deads’ souls. Some people lived such good or bad lives that there was no question where they should go. Others lived bland and meaningless lives and got sent to Aphsodel. Aides and I judged the ones that were in-between. The day was over far too soon, and while Aides and I ate dinner, I gushed about how fun I found it. Aides chuckled at my enthusiasm and praised my judgment.

“Can I do this with you every day?” I begged. Aides stiffened.

“Or not,” I backpedaled. Aides smiled slightly and put his hand to my cheek.

“Of course you can, my love. It would be an honor to have you rule alongside me.” I grinned and kissed him. His arms wrapped around me tightly, almost possessively. I got lost in the feeling of his love when suddenly a loud pop sounded beside us. I jerked backward, almost falling out of Aides’ lap.

“Damn it, Asteroth! What did I say about transporting to my realm?”

I glanced up. A man stood before us, tall and muscular. He chuckled at Aides’ anger. “I've come to talk to you about the case.”

Aides straightened and pulled me closer. “And?” he asked.

The man looked a little shameful. “You two will share. 6 months for each of you. You will have the winter, she will have summer.”

Aides stood quickly, placing me to stand behind him and wrapping an arm around me protectively. “No. Not happening.”

Astaroth shook his head. “I’m sorry, nephew.” Another loud pop and he was gone.

“Aides?” I asked. “What happened? What do you have to share?” He began to shake. “Husband,” I begged, gripping his arm. “What is going on?” He turned to face me. His expression was a mixture of wrath and sorrow.

“Ceres,” he began, “went to Astaroth and claimed that I had kidnapped you and was keeping you here against your will.” I would have laughed had Aides face not been so solemn.

“What is she talking about? I clearly came here willingly.”

Aides sighed and ran his hands through his hair, a habit I was coming to realize meant he was stressed. “You did, and she knows that. But she’s trying to claim that because of your sickness you weren’t in a state of mind to be making such decisions.” I felt my stomach fill with dread. “And?” I whispered, my voice barely audible.

"She won."


End file.
